Strategy, markets & tax-deferral thinking.
Clear, practical perspective on 1031 exchanges, DSTs, and building durable real estate wealth — written for owners and investors, not specialists.
The zero-coupon DST: a specialist tool for the heavily leveraged exchanger
Sell a property with a large mortgage and you must replace that debt or pay tax on the shortfall. There is a structure built for exactly that problem, and it pays you nothing along the way.
FIRPTA and the foreign seller: 15% of the price, gone before the exchange starts
A foreign owner can absolutely do a 1031 exchange. The problem is that federal law tells the buyer to withhold 15% of the sale price first, and getting it released takes paperwork nobody starts early enough.
How a DST ends: the exit conversation to have before you invest
Most DST material sells the entry. The part that decides your outcome is the exit, and one increasingly common structure can hand your decision to the sponsor instead of you.
Your exchange isn't finished at closing: reporting it on Form 8824
You closed, you deferred, you moved on. But the IRS does not know any of that until you tell it. The exchange is only complete when it is reported, and one form does the telling.
The state wants its cut at closing: withholding on out-of-state sellers
You structured the exchange perfectly, and then escrow announces it is holding back several percent of your sale price for a state you do not live in. Usually avoidable, but only before closing.
What happens if you die in the middle of a 1031 exchange
It is the question nobody wants to ask and every family eventually needs answered. The exchange does not automatically die with you, and how it is handled decides whether your heirs inherit a tax bill.
Divorce and the 1031 exchange: untangling a property two people own
The same-taxpayer rule assumes the person who sells is the person who buys. Divorce breaks that assumption, and the fix depends entirely on whether you act before the sale or after.
One into many, many into one: using a 1031 to reshape a portfolio
A 1031 exchange is not required to be one building for one building. You can split a single sale across several properties, or roll a scattered portfolio into one. Same clock, different math.
When a 1031 fails: what actually happens, and the timing quirk that can save you
Miss a deadline and the deferral is gone. But a failed exchange is not always a disaster in the year you expect, because of how the 180-day window straddles two tax years.
What a 1031 exchange actually costs, and which fees quietly create a tax bill
Everyone asks what the intermediary charges. That's the small number. The one that matters is which closing costs you can pay from exchange proceeds without accidentally triggering boot.
Can you 1031 exchange an Airbnb? Yes, if it's a business and not a getaway
Short-term rentals can absolutely qualify for a 1031. The catch isn't the nightly-rental part, it's proving the property was held for investment and not quietly serving as your personal vacation home.
Can you 1031 exchange raw land? The dirt qualifies, the intent decides
Vacant land, farmland, a ranch: all can be traded tax-deferred, and you can swap a field for an apartment building. The one thing that disqualifies land isn't what it is, but why you hold it.
The partial 1031 exchange: when taking some cash out is the right call
The tax code treats a 1031 as all-or-nothing only if you want it to. You can reinvest most of your proceeds, keep some as cash, and pay tax on just that slice. Sometimes that's the smarter move.
Mortgage boot: the debt rule that surprises 1031 investors at the closing table
Most people know they have to reinvest all their cash. Fewer know they usually have to replace their debt too. Pay off a big mortgage and buy with a small one, and the gap is taxable.
Tenants in common: owning a real deed to a piece of a bigger building
A TIC lets several 1031 investors pool capital and each hold direct, deeded title to a fraction of a larger property. It's the more hands-on cousin of the DST, with more control and more friction.
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Occasional, substantive notes on tax-deferral strategy and replacement-property trends. No noise.